Posts tagged “Urbex”

This is one most definitely from the archives that has been begging me to edit it for a very very very long time, and I figured that as I’ve now hit 4,000 followers (not even the faintest idea how that happened!), then now would be an ideal time to dust things off and throw it out there. This is from a past visit to the previously infamous Potters Manor, a once wonderful manor house sadly abandoned. I’m not even sure it’s still standing, as I know from the last pictures I saw, it had been robbed of any remaining character it may once have had, and everything that wasn’t nailed down, and sadly most things that WERE nailed down too.

Hopefully someone bought it, with the intention of restoring it to its former glory.

A few more shots from the day spent exploring the abandoned steel mill…

The light on the day was pretty perfect, streaming through all the holes in the steel cladding of the buildings, and that was fortunate given the utter lack of lighting or power within the buildings themselves. It sure was extremely dark in places, which the shots belie. Sometimes the only way to focus was with the aid of torchlight.

Looking forward to the next trip, that’s for sure. Someday… soon… hopefully…

I have to confess that there’s little that appeals to me more than wandering around an old abandoned steel mill with camera and tripod, spare batteries and cards, a working flash-light and my own never ending curiosity. Especially when there’s some pretty amazing light streaming through the holes in the walls and roof.

The pictures seriously do NOT give an accurate idea of exactly how dark it was in there though, and trying to navigate between various levels in almost total darkness was decidedly entertaining… especially when venturing right up on top of the roof!!.. Ladders and ascents not for the feint hearted, especially with all the necessary camera gear in tow.

The doorway shown above, at the end of the narrow walkway was the one that led out on to a narrow platform before the final ladder to the roof, and maybe gives a better idea of how dark it actually was. Fun fun fun :)

Rumour is that there’s a possible buyer for the place though, so maybe this was my final abandoned adventure there, unless I manage to squeeze in another one obviously. Still have a few shots left to post at least. :)

A shot from a rather exceptional day out today with old friends, and also making of new friends too… such as the urbex legend that is Andre Govia… All in all a mixed day of sorts.. Always good to be out with old friends, always good to meet new friends, but sad to think that this was probably the last visit to Lillesdon School for Girls, as it has now been purchased, and its precise future is pretty much unknown, other than it’s earmarked for development of apartments… Will they try to keep the building ??… I do hope so, as it would be such a shame to see a building of such ornate architecture demolished to make way for new, but it’s already cost someone £2.1 million ($3.3 million), and would likely cost as much again to renovate… We shall see…

And now for something a bit more… well.. Maybe “normal” isn’t quite the right phrase, but normal’er… or for me at least… Still one of my favourite urbex locations is this place… At least that is until we manage to get in to the next on the list of must do’s, without being caught… ;)

I seem to have cultivated / acquired / developed / produced a bit of a problem… or an illness… or an addiction… or some may even consider it the early onset of insanity (although my kids may argue it’s not so early… lol).. Anyway, this “problem” I speak of has been slowly worsening over the past few years, and I can definitively trace the source back to its origins… which was HERE… An old abandoned iron foundry, that had a very convenient human sized hole in the fence… I think I must have been bitten by something when I was in there… Fortunately though, that foundry is no longer in existence, so hopefully others won’t suffer the same fate as me…

The symptoms of said illness ??… An inane desire to seek out and sneak in to any and all abandoned and derelict locations I can find… Schools / Colleges / Hospitals / Mansions / Nursing Homes / Industrial Factories… If it’s old and unused (and generally unsafe) then that’s invitation enough normally… lol… Other symptoms also include cuts / abrasions / not being able to get clean for a week / dirty blood stained clothing, and smelling like something no human should really be smelling like…. It’s small wonder I have so few friends these days !!!… although I’m pretty sure it’s only mildly contagious…

Oh, and it also means that my much more “general consumption” landscapey type photography has suffered a bit, but then given that it’s fast heading in to winter here, that’s no bad thing…

So the latest offering is an old abandoned Girls School, which I’ve been to before, but on this occasion we also managed to find the basement, and the beams of sunlight streaming through the small windows were nothing short of awe-inspiring… You certainly can’t beat spending hours in the dark and damp basement of an old and long abandoned girls school on a sunny Sunday afternoon… Isn’t that every mans idea of the perfect way to spend their weekend ??… ;)

Funky Slug Photo’s on Flickr

For an alternative to the photography I have posted here, please also check out my Flickr website, where I go under the pseudonym of Funky Slug. Here you can preview a much larger selection of my work.